On the flip side, bears, of course, have spent the better part of the past few years missing out in one of the greatest bull stretches in market history. But that won’t stop them from revelling in their I-told-ya-so moment when it finally comes.

Lance Roberts, chief portfolio strategist for Clarity Financial, is not one of those wild-eyed market alarmists, though he did earn our chart(s) of the day honors with this trio, which he says illustrates his “biggest concern” at the moment.

Chart 1) This just shows how this bull cycle is on pace to become the longest ever. “Regardless, it will end, and like all previously over-valued, over-extended, over-leveraged and overly-complacent bull cycles in history, it ends badly,” Roberts writes.

Chart 2) See those little bends in each red dotted line? There may be something to that. “One of the hallmarks of a late-stage bull-market cycle is the acceleration in price as investors capitulate by ‘jumping in’ as prices accelerate,” Roberts explains.

Chart 3) There might be a tell in what we’re seeing in corporate earnings. “The second downturn in earnings, particularly when sales are stagnating as they are now, tends to be the demarcation point of a repricing phase,” Roberts says.

Obviously, he’s unloading stocks, right? Not exactly ...

“For now, the bullish trend remains intact which keeps portfolios allocated towards equities,” he says. “BUT, and that is a Kardashian-sized one, we do so with a ‘clear and present’ understanding of the risk that we are undertaking.”

The call

Last week was a tough one for bitcoin, punctuated by J.P. Morgan’s
JPM, -0.72%
Jamie Dimon slamming it as a “fraud” as the price just kept dropping. Well, it’s a new week, and bitcoin’s showing signs of life.

“With its ability to validate all transactions in an immutable electronic ledger, the blockchain has the potential to be as disruptive as Amazon
AMZN, -0.89%
was in the late 1990s,” he says, pointing out that Jeff Bezos and company faced some serious doubts of their own back in the day.

Skeptics will laugh, while true believers will say that prediction downplays the true crypto potential. Either way, go ahead and add Holmes to the long line of bullish bitcoin forecasts, like this one calling for $100,000:

The buzz

Rolling Stone is being put up for sale, according to a New York Times report. Founder Jann Wenner is ready to give up control of the iconic music mag, putting Wenner Media, the majority stakeholder in Rolling Stone, on the market. The move comes in response to financial difficulties, due largely to the decline in print advertising in recent years.

Merger Monday? Northrop Grumman
NOC, -0.25%
has agreed a deal to buy Orbital ATK OA, +0.05%
for $7.8 billion. Virginia-based Orbital ATK is an aerospace and defense company that manufactures everything from ammunition to rockets to satellites. Northrop Grumman, also based in Virginia, is the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world. Orbital is up around 20%.

Keep an eye on insurers for Monday, with Hurricane Jose lining up to hit parts of the East Coast this week with big waves and dangerous rip currents. Meanwhile, the battered Caribbean may face Hurricane Maria by midweek.

The stat

$200,000 — That’s the annual salary computer vision graduates are commanding right out of college as companies desperately seek anybody with robotics engineering skills, according to the dean of Carnegie Mellon’s computer science school. “It does feel very much like a gold rush town at the moment,” he told CNBC.

The quote

“If North Korea keeps on with this reckless behavior, if the United States has to defend itself or defend its allies in any way, North Korea will be destroyed” — U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

The economy

A quiet day on the data front is on tap, but we will get the September NAHB homebuilder survey at 10 a.m. Eastern. Things heat up later in the week, when August housing starts and existing home sales will be released. The FOMC is expected to announce the reduction of the Fed’s balance sheet Wednesday.

Need to Know starts early and is updated until the opening bell, but sign up hereto get it delivered once to your email box. Be sure to check the Need to Know item. The emailed version will be sent out at about 7:30 a.m. Eastern.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only. Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.